Samvel Karapetyan: Armenian authorities attempting to justify  perpetrators of Armenian Genocide and equate the victim with  executioner

ArmInfo.  The current Armenian authorities are attempting to justify the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide; moreover, they are attempting to equate the victim  with the executioner. This is stated in the message of Samvel  Karapetyan, founder and leader of the Strong Armenia party, on the  occasion of the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

"My dear Armenian people, the strong Armenian people, who have  endured many tragedies but have risen again. Today, we are all united  by one sorrow and one pain - the Armenian Genocide. We are the  descendants of those Armenians who fell victim to the most heinous  crime against humanity - genocide.  We are witnesses to a painful and  unbelievable reality for Armenians," Karapetyan wrote. The party  leader recalled that the current Armenian authorities are attempting  to justify the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide, and even more  so, they are attempting to equate the victim with the executioner.  Furthermore, as Karapetyan noted, they openly declare that  international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is no longer a  priority of their foreign policy. "But they forget or ignore an  important fact: such weak people come and go, but the historical  memory of the Armenian people remains. It is eternal. This memory is  embedded in our genetic code," the leader of Strong Armenia stated.

At the same time, he noted that the Armenian people cannot change  their geography and neighbors.  Therefore, according to Karapetyan,  regional stability and peace are a priority for the country. "The  rapid development of Armenia's economy leaves us no other choice.  Therefore, closing borders in the 21st century will inevitably impact  the country's natural development. We advocate establishing and  maintaining diplomatic relations with Turkey based on the fundamental  principles of international law, without compromising historical  truth and national dignity," the party leader noted. Karapetyan is  convinced that a nation without memory is like a rootless tree, which  can quickly break and fall. "But we are not that kind of nation; we  are like a thousand-year-old oak tree, whose roots reach deep into  the earth.  We are firmly attached to our land. Dear compatriots,  history leaves us no choice but to be strong. We see that when we are  weak and stubborn, the evil that befalls us becomes even stronger. It  was under this weak and incompetent government that we witnessed the  loss of our second homeland - our wonderful Artsakh.  We will no  longer allow ourselves to be killed," Karapetyan emphasized.

According to him, a strong and prudent leader is one who foresees  tragedy and prevents it, rather than commenting on the past and  trying to find excuses. "Today, we, together with our compatriots in  the diaspora, our brothers and sisters, Armenians scattered around  the world, join hands and set one goal: to have a strong Armenia. We  will no longer be weak," Karapetyan concluded. It is worth noting  that in early 2025, the Armenian prime minister, at a meeting with  representatives of the Armenian community in Switzerland, questioned  the fact of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Independent  experts are inclined to believe that he is either unaware that the  term "genocide" was coined by genocide scholar Raphael Lemkin only in  1944, or he is deliberately trying to create a narrative that "this  issue was artificially raised by the Soviet Union to put pressure on  Turkey." Let us recall that on April 24, 1915, in Constantinople, the  capital of the Ottoman Empire, the extermination of Armenian subjects  began. It began with the arrests of Armenian intellectuals-writers  and poets, architects, and parliamentarians-and then escalated into  the complete extermination of Armenians. As a result of these actions  by the Turkish authorities, more than 1.5 million Armenians were  deported, starved, and tortured to death.

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized by the Council of Europe  (1998, 2001), the European Parliament (1987, 2000, 2002, 2005), the  UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection  of Minorities[7], the World Council of Churches, the Parliamentary  Coalition of South American Countries (Mercosur), and the Parliament  of Latin America (2015).

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized and condemned by many  countries and influential international organizations. The first to  officially recognize and condemn the mass killings of Armenians was  the Parliament of Uruguay (1965). The extermination of Armenians has  been officially recognized as genocide (under international law) and  condemned by: Austria (joint statement of the chairmen of  parliamentary factions, 2015), Argentina (2 laws, 5 resolutions;  2004, 2007), Armenia (1964 as part of the USSR, 1988, 1990), Belgium  (1998, 2015), Bulgaria (2007, 2015), Bolivia (2014), Brazil (2015),  Vatican City (2015), Venezuela (2005), Germany (2016), Greece (1996),  Italy (2000, 2019), Canada (1996, 2002, 2004), Cyprus (1975, 1982),  Latvia (2021), Lebanon (1997), Libya (2019); On April 18, 2019, the  Interim Government of Libya adopted a resolution recognizing the  Armenian Genocide. Lithuania (2005), Luxembourg (2015), Netherlands  (2004, 2018), Paraguay (2015), Poland (2005), Portugal (2019), Russia  (1995), Syria (2020), Slovakia (2004), USA (2019, 2021); On April 24,  2021, US President Joe Biden officially recognized the Armenian  Genocide. Uruguay (1965), France (1998, 2000, 2001, 2006), Czech  Republic (2015, 2017, 2020), Chile (2007), Switzerland (2003), Sweden  (2010). Turkey continues its policy of denial of this crime against  humanity.